晚明的悔婚现象及其法律规制

Legal Provisions on Breach of Marriage Engagements in Late Ming

晚明时期随着商品经济的发展和社会风尚的嬗变,民间婚姻缔结过程中悔婚现象日益增多,缘由也愈发纷繁复杂。财婚风尚悄然兴起,传统门第观念受到冲击,但是女方在悔婚事件中仍然处于十分不利的地位。而悔婚案中各级官吏既成婚维持的倾向也在晚明时期逐渐明显,使得晚明的婚姻风尚呈现出在标新嬗变与回归正统间游走的态势。

Due to development in commodity economy and social trend, breach of marriage engagement for various reasons started to rise. Marriage for wealth became popular and posed challenges to traditional attitudes towards matching family backgrounds. Women, however, were in a disadvantaged position in breaches of marriage engagements. Local officials tended to, nonetheless, uphold the marriage engagements in court cases and thus, made marriages in late Ming like a pendulum swinging between new trends and traditional practices.